Journal lubricator



Sept. 11, 1956 R. J. HARKENRIDER 2,762,665

JOURNAL LUBRICATOR Filed April 6, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l IN V EN TOR.

Sept. 11, 1956 R. J. HARKENRIDER JOURNAL LUBRICATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 6, 1953 INVENTOR. mm

United States Patent JOURNAL LUBRICATOR Application April 6, 1953, Serial No. 347,034

Claims. ('Cl. 30888) My invention relates to journal lubricators and more particularly to a resilient type lubricator which positively.

insures a supply of lubricating oil to the journals of railway vehicles and the like.

In the operation of vehicles such as railway cars, it is highly important to maintain a positive source of lubrication for the journals of these vehicles. In the conventional railway freight car, the journal extends into a journal box and oil reservoir which is packed with waste. Lubricating oil is poured into the bottom of the journal box which acts as an oil reservoir and this oil is supplied by capillary action to the journals. After a period of movement of the car, the waste frequently becomes packed on the bottom of the journal box, spaced somewhat from the journal, and the journal ceases to be lubricated.

This conventional type of journal lubricators, particularly those used in railway freight cars, present an additional objection. Freight cars frequently remain stationary on sidings for a relatively long period of time. During such inaction the oil which is normally in the upper portion of the waste adjacent the journal will, through a siphoning effect, flow downwardly to the oil reservoir at the bottom of the journal box, leaving the journal contacting waste relatively free of oil. When the car is again moved, it takes an appreciable number of rotations of the journal to cause the oil again to move up through capillary action into the journal contacting waste. During this time the journal is receiving little, if any, lubrication and the bearing riding on the journal is subject to great friction and wear.

In the operation of journals, particularly those in freight cars, it is highly essential that the journals be lubricated at all times to prevent the generation of heat and friction which causes hot boxes seriously interfering with railroad operation.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a journal lubricator for use in a conventional journal box and which lubricator insures adequate lubrication of the journal at all times.

Another object of my invention is to provide a lubricator which will urge an oil saturated lubricating surface into contact with the cylindrical surface of the journal.

Another object of my invention is to provide a lubricator which is adapted to be used with new journals as well as with journals which have been subjected to varying degrees of wear.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a journal lubricator of a unit or package type which may be readily installed and removed from the journal box.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide a lubricator having a wick fed o-il reservoir type of lubricating surface which will retain lubricating oil during relatively long periods when the journal is not being rotated.

These and other objects will become apparent from the following description and drawings, in which:

Figure l is a vertical transverse section taken through "ice a conventional journal box showing my new lubricator in position;

Figure 2 is a cross section taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1, the journal being shown in elevation;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of my new lubricator removed from its ordinary position in the journal box;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the strap handle and resilient compressible core of the lubricator;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of one wick section of the lubricator; and

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the longitudinal lubricating section of my lubricator.

In the drawings, 10 represents a conventional journal box having side walls 12 and a generally concave bottom '14. Projecting into the journal box through an opening in the rear thereof is a journal 16 having an end flange 18. This journal is adapted to support a freight car and load by means of conventional journal bearings (not shown) riding on the upper surface of the journal.

My lubricator consists generally of a resilient core 20, a strap 22 forming a looped handle 23 extending outwardly from the core, and a plurality of lubricating wick segments 24 and longitudinally extending blocks 26 bonded to a resilient tube 30 substantially enveloping the resilient core 20.

The core 20 may be made of any type of resilient material having a high compression ratio, such as sponge rubber, foam rubber, foamed plastic or compressible hair pads impregnated with rubber or synthetic resilient bonding materials such as neoprene. I have found that hair pads of pig bristle resiliently bonded together with neo prene provides a satisfactory compressible core. The core 20 is molded or cut in a general crescent shape but with the sides thereof rounded. The are of the journal side of the resilient core substantially conforms to the cylindrical surface of the journal. The core 20 is adapted to be compressed in use and tends to resume its original shape.

Positioned around the resilient core from back to front is a strap 22 which may be made of any suitable material but is preferably made of a single piece of heavy canvas, the ends of which may be overlapped and sewed together at the rear of the core. The canvas piece is looped lengthwise about the core and the two sides of the loop are then fastened together at the front end of the core by means of suitable fastening means, such as a row of stitching 26, to provide a looped handle 23. This handle is useful in transporting the lubricators and in the removal of the lubricatorsfrom the journal boxes.

Substantially enveloping the core and strap are a plurality of lubricating wick segments 24 of a wear resistant fibrous material such as wool felt and capable of holding and supplying oil through capillary action. These segments 24 conform generally to the shape of the core 20 and the individual segments may be composed of one or more pieces. The top portion of the segments 24 is curved to provide a concave journal contacting surface 28 and the upper ends of the segments are spaced apart to receive therebetween one or more longitudinally extending blocks 26. These blocks 26 are also madeof a wear resistant fibrous material such as Wool felt which is capable of becoming oil saturated. These blocks extend axially of the journal and in instances where a plurality of blocks are used, the blocks are spaced slightly apart to provide grooves or spaces which act as reservoirs to retain oil fed from the wick segments 24.

A single felt block having recesses formed therein to provide oil reservoirs may likewise be used. The upper surfaces of the blocks 26 are slightly curved as at 28 to conform to the shape of the journal.

The wicks 24 and the blocks 26 may be assembled in the following manner: a tube 30 of oil resistant and oil-impervious material such as rubber or the like is placed in a jig having a configuration similar to that of resilient core 20 and this tube is covered with an appropriate bonding or vulcanizing agent. The segments 24 are placed in close proximity side by side the full length of the tube substantially enveloping the same. Blocks 26 are then placed in spaced apart relative longitudinally between the upper ends of the segments 24 and heat is applied internally of the tube 30 to bind the segments and blocks thereto. The tube 30 together with the fibrous lubricating material bonded thereto may be snugly fit over the resilient core 20 and strap 22 and will generally conform to the shape of the core.

The lubricator with the resilient core 20 and the enveloping lubricating surface consisting of the segments 24, blocks 26 and tube 30 is generally in thickness of a size greater than the distance between the journal and the bottom curved portion of the journal box. Upon insertion of the lubricator, it is necessary to compress the resilient core and enveloping fibrous material and slide the lubricator into place between the journal and the bottom of the journal box. The compressed core by virtue of its inherent resiliency tends to resume its original shape and forces the fibrous material against the under surface of the journal. I have found that adequate lubrication is assured with a lubricating surface pressure generally of one-half pound per square inch.

When lubricating oil is applied to the journal box oil reservoir, the oil will be transmitted to the upper lubricating surface of the segments 24 through capillary action in these segments. These wicks feed oil to the blocks 26 extending axially of the journal and during continued rotation of the journal, these blocks become oil saturated with oil and oil fills up the spaces between the blocks 26, as shown at 32 in Figure l or in depressions formed therein. The resilient core 20 continually urges the upper surfaces of the segments 24 and the blocks 26 against the under side of the journal, thereby insuring positive lubrication. If the journal is inoperative for a considerable period of time, oil will tend to drain down the sides of the segments into the oil reservoir, but there will always be an adequate supply of lubricating oil maintained in instant readiness for lubricating the car journal due to the rubber tube 30 which forms an arcuate pocket beneath the journal and serves as an auxiliary oil reservoir.

The longitudinally extending blocks 26 with their separating spaces or grooves serve to retain a substantial quantity of oil in this auxiliary reservoir so that even when the car journal has been inoperative for a consider able period of time, oil is nevertheless instantly available for lubricating the journal as soon as it is made to rotate.

The spaces between blocks 26 not only serve to provide added storage capacity for the oil in the auxilary reservoir immediately beneath the journal and above the core 20, but also tend to inhibit capillary action from draining oil away from the reservoir.

the distance between the journal and the bottom of the journal box, the lubricator described herein with its resilient core will compensate for diiferences in journal diameter resulting from wear and will insure a positive source of lubrication to such worn journals.

If it becomes necessary for inspection purposes or otherwise to remove the lubricator, such removal may be accomplished readily through the use of the handle 23 which may be grasped to slide the lubricator from under the journal and out through the conventional journal box door.

It is to be understood that in the above description and the drawings attached thereto, I have illustrated merely a preferred embodiment of my invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details described herein and wish to avail myself of all of the embodiments which may come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A journal box lubricator comprising a resilient core, a lubricant resistant tube encircling said core, a plurality of C-shaped wick segments received about and secured to the outer surface of said tube, with the ends of the respective segments all being positioned at the top of the lubricator and substantially aligned longitudinally thereof, and a plurality of block elements mounted between said ends of said segments, said block elements extending longitudinally of the lubricator and being spaced apart from each other to define lubricant receiving reservoirs.

2. The combination with a journal and a journal box of a journal lubricator, said lubricator being received between the journal and the bottom of the journal box, said lubricator comprising a mass of resilient material formed to provide an arcuate core having end portions and a circumferential surface portion, a resilient tube encircling said arcuate core, a plurality of fibrous material wick segments substantially encircling and secured to said tube, the end portions of each of said Wick segments being spaced apart, the upper surface of said wick segments adjacent said end portions being curved to conform to the cylindrical surface of said journal, and a plurality of fibrous material blocks secured to said tube in side-byside relationship and extending transversely of said wick segments and in the space between the ends of said wick segments, said fibrous blocks being spaced apart from each other to define grooves therebetween, the upper surface of said blocks being curved to conform to the cylindrical surface of said journal, the thickness of said lubricator being greater than the distance between said journal and the bottom of said journal box whereby when said lubricator is compressed and inserted into the space between said journal and the bottom of said journal box, said resilient core normally urges the top surface of said segments and said blocks into lubricating engagement with said journal.

3. A journal box lubricator comprising an oil resistant tube, distending means received within said tube, and capillary means secured to each side of said tube, said capillary means on each side of said tube terminating short of the top of said tube, thereby forming an oil reservoir, and at least one oil absorbent block element mounted in said reservoir and spaced from the adjacent ends of said capillary means.

4. A journal lubricator adapted to be inserted and held in place between the bottom of a journal and the floor of the journal box which houses the journal and contains an oil reservoir, said lubricator comprising a resilient core, oil absorbent material forming a blanket substantially covering the sides and top of said resilient core and adapted to extend into said oil reservoir to lift oil therefrom by capillary action to the top of the lubricator, said resilient core being of sufficient dimension that when the lubricator is in place beneath the journal the upper portion of the lubricator is resiliently urged into arcuate contact with said journal, and oil retaining means interposed between said blanket and said resilient core in the area of said arcuate contact portion to form an auxiliary oil reservoir beneath the journal for the retention of oil during non-rotation of the journal, the blanket being discontinuous throughout the axial length of said arcuate contact portion to provide a lengthwise space, and at least one block element positioned in said space whereby oil reaching said block element is retained therein during periods of non-rotation of the axle and 591,406 Koch Oct. 12, 1897 not returned to the main oil reservoir by reverse capillary 2,150,935 Miller Mar. 21, 1939 action.

5. A lubricator as set forth in claim 4 in which said Fem-31.61? PATENTS block element is held in spaced relation with the ends 5 9 Great Bl'ltam 1911 of said blanket forming said space. OTHER REFERENCES References Cited in the file of this patent Lubrication Products June 1937 UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 20,562 Cunningham Nov. 30, 1937 10 

